Category Archives: too many books

May 11, 2016   Stacey   book storage, books, fun, Stacey, too many books  
15

How do I fill these shelves?!

When I moved into my house almost 7 years ago, I told myself I’d have to build bookshelves to store all my books. As the years wore on and the kids got bigger, the book piles did too. I now have books, both ones I’ve represented and ones I’ve bought or been given, in every corner of my home.

Finally, the bookshelf project has come to fruition (see below) and I now find myself with two very large empty built-in bookcases and a big question of how to fill them.

 

I’d love some help from our blog readers. How do you store your books? Are they organized by category, color, alphabetical or some combination? I love those photos I’ve seen of spines organized by color so the shelves have a rainbow effect, but it seems so impractical to me as someone who will likely be adding books on a regular basis.

 

 

Because I represent books in many categories for both children and adults, it seems that might be the way to go. As one of my friends pointed out, though, because this is the first thing you see when you walk in my house, the books should be for display rather than for storage purposes. My instinct initially was to cram as many books as possible in to the shelves, but I think she has a point. Maybe this is a case where less is more. Below you’ll see some of the books I’ve represented that I currently have stacked on my piano.

 

I also like the idea of doing a combination of horizontal and vertical stacks. Should there be a pattern to that?

 

Would love to know what you think and how you display your books. Please feel free to send photos along. I love the visuals. And if anyone would like to volunteer to come help with what feels like an overwhelming project, please let me know!

 

April 26, 2016   mhoogland   chat, critique, dialogue, make it stop, Mike H, opinion, reading, too many books  
5

When to put down a book

Some people have to finish every book they start reading. I am not one of those people. There are so many amazing books out there that I want to read that it feels wrong, even irresponsible, to spend time finishing a book that has completely lost my interest.

For instance, if a novel’s written in the first person and I can’t relate to that character, then I’m going to stop reading. If a plot is dragging or meanders without a clear end in sight, I’ll usually put the book down unless I’ve become emotionally invested in the characters. Stories and characters that feel familiar are also begging to be dropped and forgotten. Very rarely will I put a book down because of the writing or an unlikable character. I can power through subpar writing if the story is that good—the kind of good that keeps you up at night and practically forces you to turn the page to find out what happens next. Plus if it’s published, then the writing can’t be that bad…right? And I love unlikeable characters, especially a flawed protagonist, which seems to be a hallmark of good fiction.

A book needs to force me to put it down. It’s not easy, but it happens and I’ve learned to recognize when it’s time to move on. What do our readers think? Do you ever stop reading a book? What makes you stop? And if you’re also a writer, are you aware of the possibility that someone might start and stop reading your work? What impact does this have on your writing?

March 15, 2016   mhoogland   dialogue, fun, Mike H, opinion, process, reading, too many books  
8

How do you read?

And by that I mean, do you read one book at a time or multiple books at once?

As for myself, I’m always reading at least 3 books at any given time, not counting those for work. It’s a tendency fed by both practicality and whim. When I’m on the go, I’m reading a book on my Kindle or iPhone. When I’m home it’s always print books—I’m curling up on the couch with a nice new hardcover or lying in bed with a paperback before going to sleep. But I also shuffle between books based on mood. Sometimes I’m just not in the mood for nonfiction and would rather read a fun, fast-paced espionage thriller instead of that critically-acclaimed National Book Award nominee.

reading-balancing-gif

Average readers might find the habit odd—I know many of my less literate friends do—but book lovers, more often than not, couldn’t imagine reading any differently. I polled a few coworkers, and all of them responded with the “multiple books at once” answer. Not a fair poll, I’ll give you that, considering we all work in publishing, but I think you’ll find that most serious readers are in the middle of a few books. Which brings me to my next question.

Is this an efficient reading habit? Is it the “right” way to read?

Although several studies have looked at multitasking and its harmful effects on the brain, I’m not sure you can consider reading multiple books as “multitasking.” At least in the sense of rapidly switching attention from one task to another. However, I could also easily see how shuffling between books might decrease reading speed. Regardless, I won’t be changing my reading habits any time soon. Not only is reading multiple books at once both practical and enjoyable, but it’s also rewarding in the sense that sometimes the books play well off one another—whether it be a juxtaposition of different writing styles or books with similar settings or the structure of nonfiction books.

I’d like to hear what our readers think. How do you read? Have you seen a dramatic difference in reading efficiency reading one way over the other? Let us know in the comments!

January 05, 2016   Kemi Faderin   too many books  
1

Moving With Books

Happy New Year, all! For me, this new year brings with it a new apartment. This was the first time in my life that I ever needed to move ALL of the books I own into a different place, and I’ll admit, it was not a pretty process. After a long and arduous search, I was finally blessed with an apartment of my own, and with this blessing came the joy of moving the stupid amount of books I’ve been piling up for x amount of years. So, I asked myself as I gawked at all my books, “where do I begin?”

As I’m sure most of you can relate, moving with books is painful. Physically and emotionally. Here are the steps I took during my move:

1.   Sturdy Boxes

With everything else I own, I had to limit my books to two boxes. I thought about the weight as I would haul them up flights of stairs and decided less was better. I also thought about the space–I would be setting up a new camp in a smaller space, how would I organize? I figured I should start small, so again, less was better.

2.    The Sorting (the emotional part)

Next came the process of figuring out what books made it into the boxes and which ones had to go. The books that have been with me for years, childhood favorites and classics were a definite yes! Then, the books I was currently reading, recommendations from high places (my lovely co-workers), books I “borrowed” from friends (couldn’t possibly give those away), etc.

3.   Saying Goodbye

There are some books in my “to read pile” that I decided I would not read. We all have those books that we know we want to read, but in the event that something else comes along, they get thrown in the back seat. A few of those were books I had already started, but put away because I didn’t fall in love with them; others were books I knew I would never read (It’s a sad moment when you realize you can’t read every book in the world). The rest were books I have read and loved, but had to take out to make room. I put this pile together and carried them down to the laundry room of my old building with a cute little sign saying, “Please Read Me.” A good friend of mine always talks about how she finds incredible books in the laundry room of her building, and so I was inspired to be the source of book happiness to someone else. Whoever finds my treasures… you’re welcome.

4.  Lifting

Once said books were packed, I tested my physical strength by carrying them up four flights of stairs. #NoHelp #Proudofmyself

5.  Finding Respite

After a long evening of moving, you deserve rest. Once all books were in my new room (in a much disorganized manner), I fell into bed, resting my aching muscles and dreading the inevitable chore of putting everything away. For that moment though, I did nothing. Well, except pick up a book to read 😉

Do any of you readers have interesting moving stories? How do you go about packing up your books?

November 24, 2015   mhoogland   Mike H, organizing, reading, too many books  
0

Winter cleaning

If you’re anything like me, you have too many books—a disappointing number of which remain unread. Books fill my apartment. They are on my coffee table. Spilling out of a floor-to-ceiling bookcase (because the last one couldn’t cut it and literally collapsed from the weight). Littered across my bedroom and on my desk. So when I came across Jessica Pryde’s Book Riot blog post about cleaning up her bookshelves it really struck a chord.

Usually around this time of year I like to set aside time to do a little housecleaning. And I don’t think I can overemphasize “little” enough. I simply take a few boxes and fill them with all the books I’ve never read and have admitted to myself that I will never read, plus those books which I’ve read and don’t feel the intense need to keep. Then off they go to friends and/or charity. There’s no labeling or organizing involved. My method is a lot less ritualistic than Jessica’s, but her process sounds a lot more effective and fun than my own. I might very well keep it mind this year. Plus, drunk weeding sounds awfully tempting.

How do our readers manage their book collections? Any tips?

April 03, 2015   Lauren   book storage, Lauren, too many books  
4

Shelves and piles and stacks and heaps and boxes

I have a friend visiting this week, so naturally yesterday when I got home from work there was a frenzy of cleaning to do.  A lot of that frenzy involved putting books away, and I realized that from an outsider’s perspective, the specificity of where books go in my apartment might seem a little odd.

Of course there are the regular bookcases, sorted by client v. non-client, subrights client v. my client, picture book v. middle grade/YA v. adult, fiction  v. non-fiction, collection v. single author, and probably many more.  My 4+ years of booksellerdom have really stuck with me.

Then there’s the stack of books to give away: the ones I accidentally bought twice, or bought but then remembered I have the galleys already, or brought home multiple times from the DGLM giveaway pile, or read and disliked enough to not want to make space for them, or plan to lend rather than gift because I know someone who will love them as much as I did.  That stack has post-it notes on it marking who they’re for.

The other post-it note pile, actually shelf, is the books I’ve borrowed, each indicating whom they belong to so when I’m done reading I’ll remember to put them in the giveaway stack instead of on the regular bookcases with the books that actually belong to me.

Then there’s the box of books I’m donating because I don’t know anyone who’d really want them—which has been sitting near my front door for at least a month now, but I swear I really will make the time to go donate them…soon.

And of course there’s the temporary pile, where books accumulate throughout the week for sorting into one of the above mentioned sections, along with various papers I need to file or deal with.

But the most prominent book space in my apartment is the one that sits just beside my TV.  Those are the books I’m in the middle of and don’t want to put down too long lest I lose the thread.  That also includes the books I have to read by a certain date, for one of my three book clubs, say, or because I’m planning to attend an author event.  Also there are books I need to read sooner rather than later, for work reasons or because I really want to or because I know that someone I know is reading, too, and I want to be able to talk to her/him about it.  The last part of that stack is the magazines I had to have because this time I was definitely, definitely going to read them, and I can’t recycle them because no, seriously, I’m going to read them this time.  (Among those magazines right now is a World Cup issue of something, which I think about every time I bring it home a new magazine friend to live with forever on my TV stand.)  That’s the pile I’m excited about, that I don’t want to forget about, that I need to feel guilty about not turning to when I’m Netflixing the 8 millionth episode of Friends.

As I sorted books from the temporary pile into all these other homes, I thought about how, outside of publishing, even my very literate friends usually only have a bookcase, maybe two, and certainly fewer teetering piles of doom.  Maybe they read e-books or listen to audiobooks.  Maybe they use the library or give their books away when they’re done because this is New York City, for goodness sake, and space is at a premium.  But you know what?  As I looked around my clean apartment before going to bed last night, it was actually the thing I was most proud of—it’s not such a bad apartment over all, but mostly there are books everywhere you look.

December 09, 2014   mhoogland   chat, dialogue, Mike H, reading, too many books, Twitter  
2

Reading goals for 2015

The New Year is fast approaching—way too quickly if you ask me—and with a new year comes new goals!

I have never before made reading one of my resolutions for the new year. Reading has always been such a huge part of my life that I never really felt it was necessary. It would be like resolving to drink more water or take more showers. But ever since I’ve started taking on clients of my own and representing more and more authors, I’ve found that I’ve had less and less time to read books by authors who aren’t my clients. So for 2015 I will make a very moderate reading goal: I will read one book every two weeks, in addition to the massive amounts of reading that comes with the territory of being a literary agent.

And then, I came across this thoughtful post about resolving to read less on Book Riot via Twitter. (I’m new to Twitter, by the way, so excuse this shameless plug: mike_hoogland.)

Now I’m certainly not at the point of “oversaturation” that Jeremy describes, but he makes a very compelling point. Reading should make you better informed, wiser, and possibly even funnier or more empathetic, so a better-informed, wiser, funnier, more empathetic person-turned-hermit is counterintuitive. I don’t think reading 24 books next year will lead to such a life either, but I’m wondering if there are people out there who have hit this reading tipping point.

Are you one of them? What are your reading goals? I’d like to know. Sound off in the comments.

December 05, 2014   Rachel   fun, holidays, Rachel S., reading, too many books  
3

Book in hand. Or bag.

Whenever I go anywhere anymore, I carry my regular bag* as well as a canvas tote bag that holds two notebooks (that have no real distinction between them, I just have two for some reason), a crossword puzzle and a book along with the bits and bobs that tend to find their ways into bags and never find their way out.

The other week, I was walking with my boyfriend who offered to carry my tote bag for me, which I handed over gladly as my shoulder was beginning to ache. He commented “what do you have in here that’s so heavy?” for of course, my book that week was a rather thick hardback, so it wasn’t the most lightweight of reading material.

“Why do you need a book today?”

“I always take a book with me, you know that. Just in case.”

Since we had an agenda for pretty much the entire day, it took some explaining to convince him that I needed to carry an extra bag because who knows how long it would be until I could get back to my book. No, I wasn’t planning on being bored or having much down time, but you never know.

Sure, sometimes I lug a book around all day and never once even consider opening it. Either I don’t have the time, or I’d rather finish that crossword puzzle that’s been niggling at me all day. But I must have one on me!

The answer here is, clearly, a bigger everyday bag, and I am pining after several (in conjunction with Lauren’s post recently, maybe you could get your book lovin’ friends a really nice bag that neatly holds daily reading material, too…), but I’m also looking for other answers and opinions.

Am I crazy to need to have a book on me at all times? If not, what other options are there besides an electronic reading device? I have them and I don’t love them. If you know of any magical solutions (or if you have any reasons to call me out for being silly) I’m really interested in hearing!

Until then, I’ll be a cumbersome bag lady and smile through the pain. For the books. Doing it for the books.

 

*I hate the word “purse” for some reason. “Pocketbook” is a little better, but not great and “handbag” is just too fussy. But I guess I am referring to a purse in this case.

September 17, 2014   mhoogland   chat, debut fiction, fun, lists, Mike H, reading, titles, too many books  
3

My Fall/Winter Reading List

I’m really excited for pretty much every upcoming fall/winter book, but I know I won’t have a chance to read everything I want to. I don’t have enough time. So I have narrowed my blog today down to the following selections that will take precedence on what looks to be a very ambitious reading list these next few months.

A debut novel from a talented writer about a young woman growing up in a poor Irish family with a stream of consciousness narrative. Definitely worth a look.

Howley’s year-long immersion following two MMA fighters sounds fascinating. A captivating narrative that analyzes the philosophy behind MMA fighting is sure to raise some eyebrows.

I love NPH. He’s extremely talented, not to mention the clever structure of this book. I expect great things, but then again, I never expect anything less from NPH.

Yes please, I’ll have a copy. She’s funnier than Tina Fey–don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Parks and Recreation is hilarious.

Because how could I not read Louis Zamperini’s autobiography after Hillenbrand’s Unbroken?

A unique World War II story about the brutal murder of a Japanese family and those investigating it. Ellroy’s latest is receiving a lot of buzz. Color me intrigued.

Honorable mentions:

LACY EYE by Jessica Treadway

I’ve already read this book, but wanted to include it hear because I strongly recommend it. A suspenseful, haunting read.

TO RISE AGAIN AT A DECENT HOUR by Joshua Ferris

Published this summer so not technically a fall/winter book, but Ferris’s novel has been on my list for a long time and was recently shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2014.

What are you most excited for this fall?

August 13, 2014   Miriam   fun, Miriam, reading, too many books, words  
5

The dead zone

This time of the year in publishing is affectionately known as the dead zone.  Everyone is either on vacation or too busy catching up on the piles that grew while they were beachside somewhere to return phone calls or e-mails, the normally swollen river of queries slows down to a babbling brook, and offers are all pending the rubber stamp of a boss who’s in some foreign land drinking copious amounts of wine.  A kind of lethargy sets in during the hazy month of August and it feels like the whole industry has been crop-dusted with Xanax.

For me, this lethargy translates into a kind of reading fatigue.  I find the idea of diving into a new book vaguely exhausting while simultaneously wishing for that reading experience that will act like a jolt of espresso to snap me out of my summer doldrums.  Instead of excited about starting the next book on my list, however, I’m feeling like it’s a chore.   I think that those of us who define ourselves through our crazy, passionate love affair with literature occasionally find ourselves muttering bitterly, “more words, words, words”  at the sight of a shiny  new hardcover 23 people have recommended.  This too shall pass I know from long experience.

When I found myself starting three different books, flipping through a few pages, and putting them down to play Candy Crush this week, I decided I needed a break.  So, I’m reading blogs, magazines, and newspaper articles, Tweets, FB posts (you didn’t think I’d stop reading altogether, did you?).  I’m watching House of Cards and the Little League World Series.  And, I’m processing the coverage of Robin William’s tragically premature passing.   (Here are a couple of sobering and interesting perspectives on the sadness at the core of Williams’ brand of creative genius:  A great essay in Cracked and Russell Brand’s eloquent print eulogy.)  In fact, as in all good relationships, a little time away from the object of one’s affections can be salubrious.

And, of course, during this book sabbatical, I’m making lists of the titles I’m going to dive into when my energy levels pick up.  I’m thinking big biographies might be in my future….

Tell me, how do you guys get over book fatigue?  Or do you never experience such a thing?

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